Preaching the Great War: Canadian Anglicans and the War Sermon, 1914-1918

Preaching the Great War: Canadian Anglicans and the War Sermon, 1914-1918

Abstract

When Britain declared war on Germany on August 4, 1914, the Dominion of Canada, as part of the British Empire, was also at war. As an overwhelmingly Christian nation, Canada's mobilization included not only its manpower, industrial capacity, and agricultural wealth, but also its spiritual resources. The author focuses on views of the Great War offered by Canada's Anglican clerics from 1914 to 1918, including those in Montreal and Quebec City, through an analysis of their sermons and other documents. Rather than painting the conflict in stark terms of 'good and evil,' the author points out that Canada's Anglican clerics appealed to theological ideas of repentance and righteousness. She found that the clerics denounced national sins and called on Canadians to shoulder their responsibilities both as citizens of the Empire and as Christians. Identifying and negotiating the responsibilities of citizenship in the crucible of war were key elements in the clerical rhetoric, as they sought to construct and connect their overlapping identities as Anglicans, citizens of the Empire, and as Canadians.